Freight Trains Collide; 5 Killed, Area Evacuated
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WESTMINSTER, Colo. — Two freight trains collided head-on beneath a highway overpass Friday night. Five crew members were killed, and residents within a half-mile area were forced to flee.
Noma Toms, state patrol dispatcher in Golden, said there were no toxic chemicals aboard either of the trains. But lubricating oil in one tank car did catch fire, sending plumes of dark smoke into the air.
“They’re evacuating a half-mile radius because of the heavy smoke,” she said.
The collision of the two Burlington Northern trains also buckled a bridge over U.S. Highway 36, the main arterial route between Denver and Boulder.
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